purchasing 240sx.

[silviaboi]

Hi guys, this weekend i'm hopefully gonna buy a 89' 240sx hatch for hella cheap.... but the guy im buying it from seemed kinda shady on the phone.... What are some things to look for in the car to make sure it wont break down the next day i bring it home? This is gonna be my first car so please info could help. Thanks.... Btw it has around 170k miles.

[240fluke]

Doesn't seem that bad. First check the exterior body for obvious signs of damage. Then check around for not so obvious signs of damage (like pop the hood and the trunk and see if you see waves where it should be straight and things like that. Try to get him to start the car cold for you (like he has not warmed it up and driven it around a bit before you got there). This way you can see what is going on with the car if it is acting funny, taking a while to start or making weird, rattling noises. Check (if you can) a quick visual of the brakes. Check the fluids. Check under the car, see if it is leaking anything. He might move it from it's normal spot before you show up, so check where he normally keeps the car. Looking for fluids on the ground. Check and see if the car smokes when started up or has any odors. Also, you might want to be like the guy in the Best Buy commercials and play with everything in the car. See if the lights inside the car work. See if the front headlights flip up and go down alright. Have him sit in the car and turn on the external lights (signals, hazards, brakes, normal driving lights). Try out the heater/air conditioning. See if it works (if it even turns) and see if it gets hot or cold relatively quickly. Roll the windows up and down. Look for car cancer (RUST), on hatchbacks, pay close attention to the area around the rear spoiler (if it has one). Check out the tires and see how much tread they have on them (turn the steering wheel all the way to one side so you can get a good look at the inside edges of those front tires as well. Look at the belts and hoses, feel them to see if they are squishy or hard. See if belts are cracked. Uhm, there might be more stuff, but this really should give you a good basis to start off with when looking at the vehicle. Also check the lugs on the car, make sure it is not missing any. Then after all this checks out.....go drive it. Good luck man.

Tim '95 SE (totalled)

[silviaboi]

Thanks 240fluke, I really appreciate it.

[s13yo15]

if its an SE model and is stock then rust is inevitable on the spoiler mounts. And keep in mind its a 13-14yo car so dunt expect the car of ur dreams......but it shuld be pretty close to it =P

[twitchy]

I gave the dude a deposit and had a mechanic at the dealer look at the car. It cost me a hindred bucks and I had them check everything out, top to bottom. This includes brakes, steering, AC, all lights and fluids, etc. Although you can check this yourself to a point, The best part was that I got to go under the car and look at stuff. The dealer knew about all the things that 240's are bad for (not many...mainly the dash cluster burning out, and front end bushings)
They told me I needed an oilpan gasket and front end bushings and gave it a clean bill of health, and I bought it that afternoon

anyhow I had them pull all the service records so I knew the car was babied

and I even called the guy who owned it before

getting under the car is a great way to see what kind of shape its really in, rust wise and to make sure there isnt anything obvious, like a rotten floor a la my old car. Bring a flashlight and take your time to go over everyting.

Its a bit of money to spend, but its great peace of mind to know that your car is truly healthy

best of luck and enjoy your new car! I did!

[s13yo15]

Dash Clusters on the 240 are known to burn out???? Is there a way to fix it or wuld i have to just change the whole thing wen it happens? changing the whole thing not much of a problem since we got another 240 in the garage anyway.

[twitchy]

Originally posted by s13yo15
Dash Clusters on the 240 are known to burn out???? Is there a way to fix it or wuld i have to just change the whole thing wen it happens? changing the whole thing not much of a problem since we got another 240 in the garage anyway.

well i dont know how common it is, but mine had been replaced. I have to add 116 kms to whatever the odo shows.. They replace the whole cluster. Its not hard to do at all yourself, just get proper instructions. But dont worry about it if yours works though, again I dont know if its a COMMON common problem, but its known to happen. Ive had mine for about...30 000 kms now and its had no problems

[Dousan_PG]

Originally posted by twitchy
The dealer knew about all the things that 240's are bad for (not many...mainly the dash cluster burning out, and front end bushings)

did the dealer tell you this? they are BS you

the ONLY dash clusters that go are HUD clusters thats well known

make sure you are clear, dont confuse people. kook has 200K+ (i think 224?) on his KA and the cluster works fine.

[s13yo15]

yea thats wut i heard from my friends. they said the hud gets all dim and eventually dunt werk.

[twitchy]

Originally posted by dousan36
did the dealer tell you this? they are BS you

the ONLY dash clusters that go are HUD clusters thats well known

make sure you are clear, dont confuse people. kook has 200K+ (i think 224?) on his KA and the cluster works fine.

The dealer told me this. They did say that when the car gets to be older (like my 93) that the bushings start to wear quickly, and they were. The cluster on mine was changed and he said that they "tended to do that"

no mines not a HUD though I have heard those are bad too

I think maybe its kind of rare even but mine was changed

[Dousan_PG]

Originally posted by twitchy
The dealer told me this. They did say that when the car gets to be older (like my 93) that the bushings start to wear quickly, and they were. The cluster on mine was changed and he said that they "tended to do that"

no mines not a HUD though I have heard those are bad too

I think maybe its kind of rare even but mine was changed

note this for future
NEVER TRUST A DEALER

they talk out of the asses 90% of the time. there are GOOD ones (ex: courtesy nissan)

mst dont know anything about 240sx in general.

yours IS rare its been changed. i've been into 240sx for about 2 years and never recall hearing of such. ive researched before i got into it and never recall hearing of such. sorry to say but i feel you got sucker punched.

hey your shoes are untied....


bushings? yeah thats true on ANY CAR. time = wear

[twitchy]

well I trust my guy at Northern Nissan, my family has bought from them for years, actually about 5 cars total now, and the same mechanic for most of our repairs. Maybe what he meant by the bushings is that they wear faster than say, someones other car like my moms maxima in ten years it wont be as bad as the buchings on mine. I dont know, maybe Ill stop in and see him tomorrow and Ill post his reply when he clairifies for me

as well if you feel I was suckerpunched as to the mileage on my car, I called the old man who owned it before me and he told me the same thing that the dealer said..."whatever show on the ODO plus 116 kms"

I had the record of that myself and it was in the computer too. Oh, I know theyre all in cahoots....

Whats that on your shirt......

[Dousan_PG]

Originally posted by twitchy
Whats that on your shirt......

a tie.


:confused: